EA announces they have shipped 3.5 million units of Mass Effect 3 in the first week of availability of the action/RPG sequel, saying this makes it "the first pop culture event and the biggest entertainment launch of 2012." According to VentureBeat, EA estimates the game sold 890,000 units in North America in its first 24 hours of release.

In the meantime, let's give appreciation to Commander Shepard. Whether you loved the ME3 ending or didn't or you just have a lot of questions, he/she has given many of us some of the best adventures we have had while playing games.

Hey, look at Bioware tersely shuffling their feet and trying to deflect attention:

We appreciate everyone’s feedback about Mass Effect 3 and want you to know that we are listening. Active discussions about the ending are more than welcome here, and the team will be reviewing it for feedback and responding when we can. Please note, we want to give people time to experience the game so while we can’t get into specifics right now, we will be able to address some of your questions once more people have had time to complete the game. In the meantime, we’d like to ask that you keep the non-spoiler areas of our forums and our social media channels spoiler free.

We understand there is a lot of debate on the Mass Effect 3 ending and we will be more than happy to engage in healthy discussions once more people get to experience the game. We are listening to all of your feedback.

In the meantime, let's give appreciation to Commander Shepard. Whether you loved the ME3 ending or didn't or you just have a lot of questions, he/she has given many of us some of the best adventures we have had while playing games. What was your favorite moment?

As for the ending... eh. Not really sure what to think. I do agree it sucks there's no "Shepard and Ashley ride off into the sunset together, and the galaxy, united as never before, enters a golden age."

On the flipside, I don't really feel it's that bad that it makes the game completely unplayable anymore. It was a great journey, and the rather poor finish by some hack writers who obviously feel they are much better than they really are, ("yeah, we built the Reapers to kill you before you build synthetic life that kills you! We're your salvation!" Okay, Mac Walters... put down the fucking crack pipe before it kills you,) doesn't diminish the journey.

I fail to see what all my work with the war assets has to do with it all, though. I brought as close as makes no difference 7000 war assets into the final fight, and what for? The ending guides also talk of "Shepard lives with 4000+ and 5000+, and Anderson lives with 4000+ but dies with 5000+", (huh?) yet I'm pretty damn sure my Shepard is dead.

I guess if you consider all of Feros to be one map (or all of Noveria), and ignore the fact that it has to load, then yes, the maps are smaller, because in ME2 and ME3 they are more split up. ME3 actually goes back to this idea a little bit by having you do multiple missions on main homeworlds. THey're not seamlessly integrated, but you do walk around on Rannoch several times, for example.

If you count a map as everything you can walk to without loading, I think ME3's maps are bigger than any of the others.

In any case, I'm having a great time playing the game. The combat is much improved, and the storytelling is fantastic in this one. I just finished the Geth/Quarian war in a wholy satisfying manner.

The ending's gonna suck, but oh well. I can at least pretend that my 8000 War Assets and counting would just wipe the fucking floor with the Reapers.

Edit : As for Kai Leng, he's bullshit. The superhero shit he pulls off on the Citadel is just plain retarded. I'd believe if he was capable of that if his name was Anakin Skywalker. Not when he's an augmented Phantom.

I'm not sure I agree with the conclusions - or some of the premises. The maps in ME2 weren't really any bigger than the ME3 ones. ME2 didn't have a larger party system, they just had more characters to choose from. The weapon configuration was improved significantly in ME3. Quite a few of the features they removed ended up improving the play experience - hacking and bypassing in ME2 are tedious but not difficult. Harvesting materials to fund weapon/armour upgrades was one of the most complained about features in ME2.

Really, if it weren't for the horrible ending(s) (and to some degree the annoying "do everything" control system), I'd have ranked ME3 above ME2. ME1 is still probably the best, although its flaws are noteworthy too - recycled buildings, way too many weapons, horrible game balance, etc.

I would agree that they worked too hard on dramatic cutscenes, or, spent too much time with them. I didn't give a damn about the stupid kid, and being forced to "chase" him in dreams was pointless. And I'm never a fan of having the player fight someone in game, and then "force" a loss (seriously, come on, I was easily kicking Kai Leng's ass).

Mass Effect 1 had vehicles, big side missions, when you scanned planets you could actually land on them and accomplish things, huge loot system, vast environments, the first Geth mission was a larger map than the last mission of ME3.

Mass Effect 2 had a much larger party system, more side quests including loyalty quests, again larger maps, and went a different route by simplifying the weapon system and removing vehicles.

Mass Effect 3 got rid of big maps, large parties, almost no side quests to speak of, got rid of scanning for fuel but replaced it with fetch and return scanning for war assets.

Over the course of the three games Mass Effect has lost more features without gaining anything new or innovative. The storylines improved mightily, as did the cut scenes, but BioWare went ahead and wholesale gutted the series over the course of the three games. I pretty much expect Dragon Age 3 to be 2 hours of gameplay with 18 hours of cut scenes.

You DO realize this is EA, right? They put vital storyline info in DLC as well.

Well, yes, there is that. It's a shame that allowance have to be made for stupidity tho'.

Of course, nobody says that Miranda was AWARE of where the base was.

Yeah, I thought of that, but even still, they could have acknowledged that in-game somewhere. Oh well, it's only one of many such faults, so I won't dwell on it too much. There's been worse in book series that I've read.

Once you get four players together that really cooperate and know how to play, the MP is absolutely glorious fun.

Hmm, I suppose I have to try it at some point. I've been resisting out of stubbornness - ME is not supposed to have multiplayer, dammit!

Bhruic wrote on Mar 11, 2012, 13:00:Well, two responses to that... First off, they need to deal with stuff like that in the actual game. Having it dealt with in third-party material is pretty pointless, since there's no guaruntee people will bother reading them

You DO realize this is EA, right? They put vital storyline info in DLC as well.

Secondly - bullshit. The star in ME2 is identical to the one in ME3. Unless the secret base takes the star with it when it relocates.

I think we can chalk that one up to the art department not wanting to create another background.

Of course, nobody says that Miranda was AWARE of where the base was. They could have easily taken her there blindfolded. Apparently only 6 people know where the base is at any given time, and of that 6, 5 are stationed there permanently. (the sixth is the Illusive Man himself.)

On a completely different note, just finished five multiplayer games with really, really awesome players. Once you get four players together that really cooperate and know how to play, the MP is absolutely glorious fun. Unlocked my Quarian Infiltrator AND my Salarian Engineer while I was at it, too.

That's another one of those things that they dig into in the novels. His secret base is mobile, and every time after someone external visits, it relocates to a different star system.

So they DID actually think about that, they just don't tell you in the game...

Well, two responses to that... First off, they need to deal with stuff like that in the actual game. Having it dealt with in third-party material is pretty pointless, since there's no guaruntee people will bother reading them

Secondly - bullshit. The star in ME2 is identical to the one in ME3. Unless the secret base takes the star with it when it relocates.

Bhruic wrote on Mar 11, 2012, 09:37:I know that plot holes between games are common, but as I'm doing a "full playthrough", just wanted to point out one that leaped out at me as I started in to ME2...

Start of ME2. Scene is set. Miranda and Illusive Man are having a conversation... At the Illusive Man's secret base! And we aren't talking she's there as a holograph, she's physically there. Considering that in ME3 she's supposedly "loyal" to you, and has broken ties with (and is being hunted by) Cerberus, she just might casually mention "Oh, yeah, you know that base you're looking for? It's over at X".

That's another one of those things that they dig into in the novels. His secret base is mobile, and every time after someone external visits, it relocates to a different star system.

So they DID actually think about that, they just don't tell you in the game...

I know that plot holes between games are common, but as I'm doing a "full playthrough", just wanted to point out one that leaped out at me as I started in to ME2...

Start of ME2. Scene is set. Miranda and Illusive Man are having a conversation... At the Illusive Man's secret base! And we aren't talking she's there as a holograph, she's physically there. Considering that in ME3 she's supposedly "loyal" to you, and has broken ties with (and is being hunted by) Cerberus, she just might casually mention "Oh, yeah, you know that base you're looking for? It's over at X".

Apparently, being banned from one game on Origin means you're banned from every game you own. Check out this funny thread by Dice

Well, no, as the quote you use points out, "If your account gets banned". If your Steam account gets banned, you get banned from all your Steam games too, so that's not really any different.

It doesn't make it any right though and it all depends on why you're banned but personally I'm against this shit, banning the whole collection, be it Steam or Origin or whatever unless the person committed something really serious like fraud.

However EA banned access to the game for stupid stuff like forum posting, which is disgraceful and I'm pretty sure illegal as well.

Still, banning one from the whole collection is always bad, save some rare exceptions (Fraud and the likes of that).

Cutter wrote on Mar 9, 2012, 21:59:I'd love to know if Aria T'loak is based on a composite of females or inspired by someone in particular. Seems to me her face is very familiar and reminds me of someone in particular though it escapes me at the moment and is driving me insane. I find both her ruthlessness and aloofness incredibly hot and wish there was a really raunchy sex scene with her. :P

Aria was voiced and faced by Carrie-Anne Moss, aka Trinity from the Matrix.

Yeah, I know that and she does an amazing job. However, I mean how the character looks. Her face is just really damn familiar. Something about the eyes and mouth. Anyay, as the Asari go she's the hottest IMO.

Bhruic wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 04:33:Doesn't mean I like it, frankly I thought the ending(s) sucked. I felt the same way I did with the Deus Ex endings - instead of having the various decisions I made along the way matter, they just give you a bunch of options (crappy ones in this case) and make you choose. Ending cop-out 101.

Name any modern game that advertises how your choices influence the game and doesn't cop out with the lame multiple cutscene endings. All the Deus Exs did it, FO3 and FO:NV, Elder Scrolls, etc. I'm with you: that has always annoyed me no end.

The only game I can think of that truly did branching into radically different games based on decisions you made was one called Strife. It was built on the original Doom engine, so you know how long ago that was.

Wasn't there an article here a couple of days ago mentioning how game designers were loathe to ever put things in a game that not everybody would see? Perfectly understandable but I don't have to like it.

After the absurd ending of ME2, I wasn't going to get fooled by Bioware again. Saved my money and watched YouTube.

Terrible ending. Just awful. The whole fateful journey was just sad and depressing. I play games for enjoyment and to feel good or at least fulfilled at the end -- not to feel like crap. I can tune in to the nightly news for that.